Our reporters are wrapping up the top five stories on their beats in 2013. Here are real estate reporter Sam Black's picks:

Huge year for office tower sales

Florida-based Beacon Investment Properties’ $253 million purchase of IDS Center in Minneapolis in March tops a list of several large office building sales in the Twin Cities in 2013, the most active year since the recession.

Investors from far and near — but mostly far — snatched up trophy properties. Among them was RBC Plaza/Gavidaii Common II, bought by KBS Reit for $126 million; Oracle Centre and International Centre, bought by Investcorp for $70 million; Canadian Pacific Plaza, bought by Ladder Capital Finance for $51.5 million; and the Plaza Seven office building, bought by City Center Realty Partners and Angelo Gordon & Co. for $44 million.

The impact of these sales began to show up in the second half of 2013, with increased rental rates, especially in downtown Minneapolis as the new owners sought to cover their hefty mortgages.

There also were two large office campuses sold in the Twin Cities this year. Cargill Inc.’s Excelsior Crossings campus in Hopkins traded for $123 million and two UnitedHealth Group Inc. buildings in Minnetonka sold for $146 million. Although both deals drew big numbers, neither will have a big impact on the office market because they’re both leased to a single tenant.

$6 billion Mayo plan boosts Rochester development

The Destination Medical Center, the 20-year economic-development plan in Rochester supporting the Mayo Clinic, is expected to attract almost $6 billion in new projects ranging from hospital additions at Mayo to new hotels and office buildings.

The development plan, boosted by a half-billion dollars in incentives passed by the Legislature in 2013, already has caused land values to jump and speculation about big projects, such as a five-star hotel along the lines of a Ritz Carlton or Four Seasons.

The Destination Medical Center involves a board that’s helping steer public funds. That group just got started in November putting together formal development of its framework for landing the new investments.

No letup in apartment construction

Someday, the market for apartments in the Twin Cities will be saturated. But apparently it’s not today.

With vacancy rates in the Twin Cities still among the lowest in the country and sources of debt still available, the apartment market bustled along in 2013. The two skyline-changers under construction are Opus Group’s 26-story Nic on Fifth and Magellan Development Group’s 36-story LPM Apartments near Loring Park.

Dozens of new projects also sprung up around the metro. Some are in predictable areas such as Uptown, the University of Minnesota and the North Loop district. There also are some suburban sites, like in Edina next to Southdale Center, in Bloomington near the Mall of America, and in Golden Valley near The Shops at West End.

As of year-end, no significant apartment plans have fallen apart and new ones are still appearing. However, developers are raising caution flags, worrying more vocally about how the market will shift when units being built now begin to open – think free rent or a free big-screen TV.

Downtown getting an eastern addition

Ryan Cos. US Inc. spent all year working on landing approvals for a $400 million development in Minneapolis that it pretty much hashed out at the end of 2012.

The deal called for Ryan to buy land from the Star Tribune and then develop it into 1.1 million square feet of office space for Wells Fargo & Co., more than 300 housing units and a two-block-long city park.

In 2013, Ryan got all of the city and county approvals it needed without much trouble or big changes in its plans. It hit a few snags in December over a squabble regarding Wells Fargo’s graphics on the roof and a lawsuit claiming the city overstepped its bounds when it voted to develop a park (bypassing the park district). But those were resolved.

Wells Fargo signed the deal Dec. 19, allowing Ryan to proceed with the Star Tribune land acquisition and the newspaper to complete its lease to move its headquarters to Capella Tower. Ryan’s development will break ground in April and be completed in 2016 — about the time the new stadium opens.

Emerson, Shutterfly lead industrial deals

The industrial real estate sector expanded greatly in 2013 as several big projects were announced and started construction.

The completion of the Highway 169 and Interstate 494 interchange prompted a wave of new industrial development in Shakopee, beginning with Emerson Process Management’s purchase of the old ADC Telecommunications Inc. site, adding 500 jobs with a $70 million expansion.

Nearby, The Opus Group began a spec building; Datacard Group decided to move from Minnetonka to some former ADC space; and Scannell Properties began a 175,000-square-foot building in Shakopee for TE Connectivity (formerly Tyco).

Also in Shakopee, Ryan Cos. US Inc. started a new facility for online media company Shutterfly.

Ryan also helped with expansions of industrial space in Brooklyn Park for Olympus Surgical Technologies and in Bloomington for The Toro Co.

There are companies that could absorb even more industrial space, and developers are scrambling to build it for them, including Liberty Property Trust in Rogers, Hyde Development in Fridley, Interstate Partners in Eagan and United Properties in Hudson, Wis.